IT Certification and Career Paths - Cisco Systems

IT Certification and Career Paths - Cisco Systems

As organizations continue to adopt new technologies and infrastructures, the demand for more IT professionals continues to increase. Cisco Career Certifications help prepare IT professionals for successful careers in various roles within the IT industry. 

SkillSoft offers a variety of learning resources to help prepare Cisco Certification Track.  These learning resources include:

• Courseware                       
• Test Prep Exams
• Books
• Mentoring 

SkillSoft CISCO Certification Preparation Resources

► Cisco Certified Design Professional (CCDP)

► Cisco Certified Entry Networking Technician (CCENT)

►CCNA Routing and Switching 

►Cisco Certified Network Professional (CCNP)

►CCNP Voice (Formerly known as CCVP)

►Cisco IP Communications Express Specialist

►Unique resources for motivation.

►CCNA Voice

►CCNP Security

►Cisco Certified Design Associate (CCDA)

►CCNA Security

SkillSoft Technology Partners in Learning:.

- See more at: http://www.trackls.com/ciscoreg.aspx#sthash.u5EAlDJN.dpuf

Five Tips for Dealing with Change in 2014

Author and speaker Sandra Crowe creates awareness of ineffective behaviors and provides methodologies and action steps to offset them while redirecting behavior toward more uplifting interactions between people.
By Sandra Crowe
It’s January. Resolution time. How many of you are making resolutions about how you are going to deal with change this year? Most of us have a fair degree of uncertainty in our lives right now. Given that, here are five tips for thinking about how you think about uncertainty present in your life:
1) Make it ok to live in the “not knowing.” As humans we want to know. We want to “brace” ourselves for “what’s next” and pad our punching bag for the next hit. All of us want security, control, and approval and knowing gives us some kind of reassurance, even if it’s bad.
2) Ask what it is you are afraid of (really). More than the fear of the unknown, break down what your core enemy is. Then ask yourself, “How realistic is that?” Look for evidence to the contrary.

Haven’t you had new things to learn before? Didn’t you adapt to your new boss last time? Be careful of the “yes, but…” as you will find excuses popping up to justify your fears.

If the questions you ask yourself determine your destiny, then maybe what you should be asking is, “Who could I become as a result of this learning?” Or even, “What doors could this open?” When you see the possibility it creates, the fear becomes insignificant and the possibilities limitless.
3) Move out of fear and into vision. As you ask these questions, notice how a vision for what’s possible emerges. Fear and vision can’t exist in the same thought. As you begin to think about what you can create or what positive things could be in store for you or your family, you can begin to strategize instead of feeling paralyzed.

4) Ask how others have done it. If you want to create vision but don’t know how, this is the time to ask your network. Get on your social media sites and pose questions about how people have found new jobs, handled a boss, or solved a problem.

If an issue is within the organization, ask others who may be in the know, network up, or ask someone who knows someone. Use it as an opportunity to make connections for knowledge or positioning.
5) Act and let go. Whatever you do, make sure you do something. Being stuck in the fear is not only paralyzing, but also reinforcing. It can be a vicious cycle if you let it be. Dig yourself out of the fear conversation by setting a number of actions to challenge yourself. After you act, let go of any outcome you think needs to happen (hard to do, but critical).
Doing all this won’t get rid of the fact that you don’t know, but will help you better prepare and offset the angst you have around it. Once the angst is down, you will be better positioned to do what you need to do from a place of greater peace and acceptance.
Learn more
Watch a short video of Sandra Crowe on Managing Your Resentments from Skillsoft's Leadership Channel™

eLearning | Best of Elearning! 2013 Award

eLearning | Best of Elearning! 2013 Award

How Happy are Your Employees?

Think employee retention and turnover rates are the ultimate indicators of employee satisfaction? Think again. Just because John Smith and Jane Doe haven’t handed in their resignation and headed for the door doesn’t mean they’re happy.
Recent studies suggest that a significant portion of the workforce is disgruntled. While the unfortunate state of the economy in the last few years has made it less likely that employees will voluntarily leave their jobs, it hasn’t stopped them from longingly eyeing the exit sign.

What are your employees complaining about?

In an article and infographic from Inc., Matthew Wong quoted a recent report that suggests 86% of employees plan on looking for a new job in 2013, up from 60% in 2009. That means that the majority of your workforce may be thinking about leaving. Even if only a small portion successfully finds other employment, low employee morale negatively impacts productivity and commitment to everyday tasks.
To survive in a down economy, many companies have had to limit raises and reevaluate benefit packages. Additionally, employees have been asked to do more with less. While these measures often help employers avoid layoffs, workers are feeling the pinch. The top employee complaints are on-the-job stress, health benefits and salary.
Most employees surveyed were completely satisfied with some aspect of their jobs, with coworkers, vacation time and bosses being the big winners. When you consider that the top complaints are with areas controlled by the company and satisfaction lies with their comrades and escape, the news isn’t good.

Understand what your employees need.

Sometimes the novelty of perks can boost morale, e.g. coffee service in the break room, free massages once a quarter or a tablet for personal use. But for long-term impact on employee satisfaction, you need to understand what your employees need. And those needs can differ significantly based on a variety of contributing factors, including gender and age.
Studies indicate that while men are focused on money and promotions, women are a bit more likely to want a more flexibility. Employees ages 33 to 50 tend to want higher job titles and those 32 and younger feel they need more training. When you get to the root of what they want, you can see that employees need to feel as though they are valuable parts of the company. They need to know that they are working toward a goal and progressing in their careers.

Make them feel valued.

Chances are you’re not in a position to offer raises and promotions to everyone; the good news is that you may not have to. Harvard Business School professor Teresa M. Amabile said, “Of all the things that contribute to a happy workday, the one thing that stands out from my research is making progress on meaningful work. Feeling like you are able to move forward on a daily basis engenders real joy.”
There a number of ways you can make your employees feel valued and increase satisfaction. Make it clear to your employees that you understand their need to grow professionally and progress in their careers. There are variety ways to do this, such as creating career tracks, providing coaching opportunities, and giving employees access to job training and skill building assets. These measures can help redirect wandering eyes and give employees a goal to focus on—a bright future with your company.

Contact Information:
TRACK Learning Solution
Sharq, Ahmad Al Jabber Street Kuwait City, Kuwait
T: +965 223 22 591
F: +965 223 22 590
Website : www.trackls.com
Email: Consultant@trackls.com

Environmental, Safety and Health Compliance—More than 40 Years of Progress

Environmental, Safety and Health Compliance—More than 40 Years of Progress

By Allison von Gruenigen, Compliance Solutions Consultant, Skillsoft

Did you know that in 1969 one of America’s rivers was so polluted with oil and trash that it caught fire?  That forty years ago on average, 38 U.S. workers died on the job each day? 
In 1970, Congress passed laws to protect both human health and the environment. These laws have greatly improved our lives and compliance training has played a major role in achieving the goals set by the agencies tasked with defining and upholding the laws. Skillsoft offers over 125 Environmental, Safety and Health (ESH) titles that support the laws and enhance a learner’s ability to help protect their self, their co-workers, the environment and their community.
Occupational safety and health
Congress created the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) in 1970 to assure safe and healthful conditions for working men and women by setting and enforcing standards and providing training, outreach, education, and compliance assistance.  Under the OSHA law, employers are responsible for providing a safe and healthful workplace for their workers.
In four decades, OSHA and their state partners, coupled with the efforts of employers, safety and health professionals, unions and advocates, have had a dramatic effect on workplace safety.

• Since 1970, workplace fatalities have been reduced by more than 65 percent and occupational injury and illness rates have declined by 67 percent. At the same time, U.S. employment has almost doubled.
• Worker deaths in America are down — from about 38 worker deaths a day in 1970 to 13 a day in 2011.
• Worker injuries and illnesses are down — from 10.9 incidents per 100 workers in 1972 to fewer than 4 per 100 in 2010.

To learn more about OSHA, watch this short video of old and new footage that highlights key moments in the Nation's progress over the past forty years in occupational safety and health protection.
Environmental protection
On April 22, 1970, 20 million Americans [one in every ten Americans at the time] stood up to demand a cleaner and healthier environment. This first Earth Day was one of the largest grassroots demonstrations in our nation’s history and it worked. By the end of the year, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) was created and tasked with both cleaning up the damage already done to the environment and establishing guidelines to help Americans make a cleaner and safer environment a reality. 
The vast environmental improvements made in the last 40 years have benefitted every single American.
Air quality

• In the 40 years since the Clean Air Act went into effect, America has reduced 60% of the dangerous air pollutants that cause smog, acid rain, lead poisoning and more.
• Today, new cars are 98 percent cleaner than in 1970 in terms of smog-forming pollutants.  This change has made Americans healthier.

Protecting America's water
Forty years ago the Cuyahoga River in Ohio was so filled with oily waste and industrial pollution that it actually caught fire.  Today, the EPA is working to protect the water resources that keep our families healthy, our communities clean, and our country strong.

• Sixty-percent more Americans were served by publicly-owned wastewater treatment facilities from 1968 to 2008.
• In a study of lakes from the 1970s to 2007, water quality improved. Half the lakes saw less nutrient concentrations (forming green sludge) and a quarter saw improved trophic status.
• Today, more than 2,000 water bodies identified as impaired in 2002 now meet water quality standards.
• The number of Americans receiving drinking water that met health standards went from 79 percent, in 1993, to 92 percent, in 2008.

Recycling

• American families and businesses went from recycling about 10 percent of trash in 1980 to more than 33 percent in 2008.  America recycles 83 million tons of trash annually.  That’s like cutting green house gas emissions from more than 33 million automobiles.

EPA @ 40 video
Watch this video montage of archival and contemporary footage that captures some of the most pivotal and memorable events of past 40 years of the environmental protection movement.
Skillsoft’s ESH compliance solutions
Skillsoft offers over 125 ESH courses, with translated courses available in the following languages (not all courses are available in all languages):

• Latin American Spanish
• Chinese Mandarin
• Canadian English and French
• German

ESH compliance courseware can be delivered and tracked through the Skillsoft Academy or Skillport® platforms and has a proven track record with third-party learning management systems. The courseware and technology conform to standards including Section 508, AICC and SCORM. The Skillsoft Academy platform manages blended curricula of elearning compliance courses along with records of other types of training such as classroom, video or on-the-job training, so all training records can be managed in one system.


Contact Information:
TRACK Learning Solution
Sharq, Ahmad Al Jabber Street Kuwait City, Kuwait
T: +965 223 22 591
F: +965 223 22 590
Website : www.trackls.com
Email: Consultant@trackls.com